Last March, Texas State Representative David P. Simpson (HD-7, Longview, TX) introduced companion bills HB 1937, HB 1938, and HCR 80. HB 1937 proposes to make it a felony crime for federal bureaucrats to “sexually grope” travelers in Texas without probable cause during an enhanced security pat-down, while HB 1938 banned the use of a “naked body” imaging scanner without informed consent and probable cause at Texas airports. HCR 80 was an official statement of strong opposition against unwarranted searches directed to the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Safety Administration (“TSA”).

While all bills were unanimously recommended for passage by their House committees, only the “anti-groping” bill (HB 1937) was presented in time before the full House of Representatives, where it passed by unanimous majority. The Texas legislature only meets for 140 days once every two years and House bills that did not make it to the House floor by midnight on May 12th died by procedure.

The surviving bill was unanimously recommended by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, and was poised to pass the Senate with another unanimous vote on May 24th, when the TSA and U.S Department of Justice unlawfully descended upon the Texas Senate and issued threats to turn Texas into a “no-fly zone”. Rattled Senators withdrew their support, forcing Senator Dan Patrick (SD-7), the bill’s Senate sponsor, to withdraw the bill in the hope that a popular outcry would allow him to re-introduce it the following day as nerves settled.

Visitors to StopAustinScanners launched over 1300 emails in the 24 hours that followed to give Senator Patrick the grounds to re-introduce the bill the following night. Unfortunately, HB 1937 effectively died by procedure in the regular session as an effort was organized to filibuster the bill. As the regular legislative session was drawing to a close, the threatened filibuster would have killed other legislation pending in the Senate. Once again, Senator Patrick withdrew the bill to preserve goodwill amongst its supporters.

In the days that followed, citizens across Texas spoke loudly and clearly about the goings on in our state legislature. Tonight, your voices are starting to be heard. The Quorum Report has acknowledged that Lt. Governor David Dewhurst has sent Governor Rick Perry a letter recommending that HB 1937 be reconsidered in a special extended session of the legislature. Gov. Perry only plans to call the recommended financial bills at present.

You can encourage the Governor to call HB 1937 for the special session and send a message to the TSA that Texas says: “COME AND TAKE IT!”

Despite mainstream media silence, popular outrage has spurred Gov. Perry’s office to start a public opinion survey on whether or not to push ahead to resubmit “restrain-the-TSA” anti-groping bill HB 1937. Demand that the Governor add HB 1937 to the legislative agenda for the upcoming special session.

If you are a Texas resident and support this bill, call (512) 463-2000 or (800) 252-9600 (toll free number) NOW and tell them you are IN FAVOR of HB 1937, relating to the prosecution and punishment for the offense of official oppression by the intrusive touching of persons seeking access to public buildings and transportation and providing penalties.

The U.S. Dept. of Justicethreatened the Texas state legislature with hand delivered letters on Tuesday this week.

Gov. Perry, TX legislators, and all public officials in Texas take an Oath of office to uphold and defend the Texas and U.S. Constitution (Article 16, Texas Constitution)

ARTICLE 16. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 1. OFFICIAL OATH. (a) All elected and appointed officers, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:

“I, _______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of ___________________ of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God.”

The hour has arrived for our state officials to step forward and execute that Oath of Office they swore to.

Last week, over a critical 20 hour period, StopAustinScanners redirected 1255 emails from Texans to our State Senate and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst that expressed outrage over the cowardice shown by the Senate’s failing to stand up to the U.S. Department of Justice threat to turn our state into a “no-fly zone”.

This outburst was sufficient for State Senator Dan Patrick (SD-7) to challenge the Lt. Governor to reintroduce, HB 1937 (the anti-groping “restrain-the-TSA bill), which later died by procedure due to the threat of a filibuster led by Democrat Senators Kirk Watson and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa at the behest of Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

The following is one “battle cry” sounded by a woman in Fredricksburg, Texas

Our Constitution is being STOMPED ON AND WE ARE SICK OF THIS !!!!!!!!!!! This is just intimidation from the Federal Thugs to make the American people afraid …we ARE NOT, REPEAT, WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF TERRORISM AND WE ARE TIRED AS AMERICAN CITIZENS OF BEING ‘TREATED LIKE WE ARE’.

As a native Texan, I FULLY SUPPORT HB 1937 ….this TSA needs to ‘GO DOWN IN FLAMES’ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why is the Legislature bending to THESE THUGS !!!!!!!!!

IN GOD WE TRUST—–GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!

A Patriot !!

Fredericksburg, Tx.

Thanks to this and similar public outcries, the battle may not be lost!!

Governor Rick Perry has created a public survey to determine whether or not to push ahead to resubmit HB 1937. If you are a Texas resident and support this bill, call (512) 463-2000 NOW and tell them you are IN FAVOR ofHB 1937.

You can also email our Senate and Lt. Governor and implore them to tell TSA to COME AND TAKE IT!

Owing to the very short legislative session, the battle against the TSA’s “despicable policies” came to its head last night when Senator Dan Patrick (SD-7) re-introduced HB 1937 on the Senate floor, but threats of a filibuster past midnight by Democrat Senators Kirk Watson (SD-14) and Juan Hinojosa (SD-20), which would kill other pending legislation by procedure, were sufficient to doom the bill.

Texas subscribes to very limited government, and our state legislature only meets for 5 ½ months every two years. This system has its benefits, as Texans are often saved from bad legislation “by the bell” when time runs out. Last night, the good guys lost to the real culprits who were cowed by threats from the Department of Justice to turn Texas into a “no-fly zone”.

State Representative David Simpson, author of HB 1937 and its companion bills HCR 80 and HB 1938, posted the following on his Facebook page immediately affterwards:

“Lt. Gov. Dewhurst allowed Senator Patrick to bring up HB 1937, but there were not 2/3rd of the members present to do it even after several amendments were considered. The Texas Sam Houston fought for and governed apparently is learning submission.”

StopAustinScanners had more web traffic yesterday than the entire time the website has been up. Yesterday’s views accounted for over 57% of all the web traffic in its short 3-month history. Our visitors bombarded our Senators and Lt. Governor with 50 emails an hour, unleashing a total of 1255 emails that implored them to resist DoJ subversion. Dan Patrick needed 1,000 to force Dewhurst to “reconsider” the bill. You delivered, but it seems the fix was already in.

Ordinarily, a Lt. Governor is not supposed to lobby for or against a bill. In an article reported today in the Austin American-Statesman, Senator Patrick’s dismay by Lt. Gov. Dewhurst’s breach of protocol by actively lobbying against the bill was so profound, Patrick asks the public the following question: “Someone [Dewhurst] who will not stand up to the federal government, you have to ask yourself, is that the kind of person we need in the U.S.Senate?”

Yesterday, Sen. Watson’s office was insisting that he was only “following orders” from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, whose own office was insisting Watson was acting independently. Your classic Texas political two-step!

While this battle may be lost, the war is not over. HB 1937 was pulled, so it may still come back in special session with a strong enough public outcry. Either way, StopAustinScanners will re-tool the website to direct your passion to the Congress, where a bi-partisan caucus is now forming to take down the TSA.

Please subscribe to our RSS feeds and email list so you can be aware of action alerts that will give your voice the power of a true representative Republic and take down this absurd modern day Gestapo.

Richard Diamond, Washington Times Senior Editor and former Spokesman for the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security, admonishes the Texas Senate and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for being “so easily cowed”. In his OpEd piece, TSA Messes with Texas Privates, Diamond urges the state to grow a backbone and start living up to its reputation for rugged independence.

The former spokesman for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security aptly points out that any attempt by the TSA to force the cancellation of air travel from the State of Texas will prompt “every domestic airline [to] be in court to challenge any move to cut off Texas just because TSA’s feelings were hurt”.

Recognizing that Texas is late in the 11th hour of its legislative process and that the federal government did nothing to consult or advise the Texas legislature during the 4 months the bill was being formulated and debated, Mr. Diamond urges that ALL MEASURES must be taken “to deliver a message to TSA and the Justice Department that they work for us, not the other way around”.

Please encourage the Texas Senate and warn David Dewhurst (our loud talking but meek Lt. Governor) that this is an historic Come and Take It moment for Texas by using our web-based email tool.

Besieged by public outrage, the principals that conspired to torpedo Texas’ “Restrain-the-TSA” legislation (HB 1937) are now pointing fingers at one another.

HB 1937 proposed to make it a felony for low-wage, untrained TSA bureaucrats to grope your person without probably cause. The bill received a unanimous recommendation in all House and Senate committees, was passed by a unanimous vote in the Texas House, and had oral commitments of support from all senators immediately prior to its scheduled vote.

When presented for final debate in the Senate, State Sen. Dan Patrick was forced to pull the bill he sponsored when 12 Senators withdrew their support due to threats leveled by the Department of Justice. The federal government’s deliberate interference in the deliberative process of a state government triggers a constitutional crisis.

This morning, Senator Watson’s office is stating that the senator was only following “orders” from the Lt. Governor, while David Dewhurst’s office claims the “turn-around” was led by Watson and that the Lt. Governor had nothing to do with the Senators’ last minute decision-making.

The Lt. Governor’s statement is contradicted by Senator Patrick, as reported by an overnight report the Dallas Morning News, and David Dewhurst is not using his bully pulpit to rally support for the bill.

Both the Lt. Governor’s and Senator Kirk Watson’s office are experiencing heavy call volumes. Hold them both accountable by calling:

Senator Kirk Watson @ (512) 463-0114

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst @ (512) 463-0001.

Use our web tool to email the Texas Senate to remind them this is a Come and Take It moment!

The following pictures are directly from the letter sent to Speaker of the House Joe Straus, Clerk Robert Haney, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Patsy Spaw regarding HB 1937. It was delivered on May 24, 2011. You can download the PDF here.

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Here is the text for you to copy-paste and spread around:

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U.S. Department of JusticeUnited States Attorney
Western District of Texas

I write with regard to HB 1937, which I understand will imminently be presented to the Texas Senate for a vote. This office, as well as the Southern, Northern and Eastern 1istrict of Texas United States Attorneys, would like to advise you of the significant legal and practical problems that will be created if the bill becomes law. As you no doubt are aware, the bill makes it a crime for a federal Transportation Security Official (“TSO”) to perform the security screening that he or she is authorized and required by federal law to perform. The proposed legislation would make it unlawful for a federal agent such as a TSO to perform certain specified searches for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation. That provision would thus criminalize searches that are required under federal regulations in order to ensure the safely of the American public. The legislation also makes it a crime for a public servant, as defined in the bill, to deny or impede another person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege, knowing that the public servant’s conduct is unlawful. As a result, it appears that the intent of the bill is to preclude a TSO from turning away from the secure area of an airport someone who otherwise would have been subjected to a pat down as a condition of entry.

The effect of this bill, if enacted, would be to interfere directly with the Transportation Security Administration’s (“TSA”) responsibility for civil aviation security. 49 U.S.C. § 114 (d); 6 U.S.C. § 202 (1). Congress has directed the Administrator of TSA to take “necessary actions to improve domestic air transportation security,” 49 U.S.C. § 44904(e), and directed him to “prescribe regulations to protect passengers and property on an aircraft. . . against an act of criminal violence or aircraft piracy.” Id. § 44903(b). Congress has directed TSA to provide for “the screening of all passengers and property… before boarding,” in order to ensure that no passenger is unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon. explosive, or other destructive substance. Id. § 44901(a), 44902(a), 114(e). If the Administrator determines that “a particular threat cannot be addressed in a way adequate to ensure.. . the safety of passengers and crew of a particular flight,” he “shall cancel the flight or series of flights.” 1(1. § 4490 5(b).

HB 1937 would conflict directly with federal law. The practical import of the bill is that it would threaten criminal prosecution of Transportation Security Administration personnel who carry out the security procedures required tinder federal statutes and TSA regulations passed to implement those statutes. Those officials cannot be put to the choice of risking criminal prosecution or carrying out heir federal duties. Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, Texas has no authority to regulate federal agents and employees in the performance of their federal ditties or to pass a statute that conflicts with federal law.

If FIR 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute. Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.

We urge that you consider the ramifications of this bill before casting your vote.

On May 24, 2011, the Texas Senate read on the floor for the first time HB 1937, which bans the TSA and any other State or Federal Government official from using a “pat-down” without probable cause as a condition for entering an airplane or a public building.

Earlier that Tuesday, the US Department of Justice delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House Joe Straus and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst threatening the State of Texas with legal action if they passed this bill:

If HR 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute. Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.

Let’s be absolutely clear here: the Federal Government just threatened to make Texas a no-fly zone if they can’t sexually assault us.

During the hearing, Senator Patrick, one of the Senate bill’s sponsors, defended HB 1937 and denounced the DOJ’s actions as threatening and insulting. Indeed, the Federal Government is not allowed to lobby for legislation in any state, yet here they are not only lobbying but threatening us! Finally, Patrick called this a “Come and Take It” moment in front of the entire Senate.

Yet despite his impassioned speech in support of the bill, Senator Patrick withdrew the bill from consideration that evening, not even allowing it to come to a vote.

Senator Patrick is right, this is our “Come and Take It” moment, and we need to TAKE ACTION NOW and let the Senate know that they MUST act. We need to let Lt. Gov. Dewhurst know that Texans WILL NOT stand by and let the Senate COWER before the ridiculous Department of Justice. The Senate knows the DOJ is wrong, we need to tell them to do what is right.

Call your Senator today and use our email form below to make a difference IMMEDIATELY. If Texas does not lead here, not only is our legislative defense doomed but many other states’ will be as well.

Action Items:

1. Use the email contact form below to message the entire Senate and Lt. Gov. Dewhurst.

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2. Contact your Senator :: Find your Senator and his office number by clicking here. For a list of all Texas Senators, click here. Please call all of them, but especially focus your attention on the bill’s sponsor, Senator Patrick (512-463-0107), and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst (512-463-0001).

3. Contact Governor Perry’s office by clicking here. Please feel free to copy and paste the same information from the above form in your message to Governor Perry.

Around 9:30 PM Central Time, State Senator Dan Patrick (SD-7) pulled “Restrain-the-TSA” anti-groping legislation (HB 1937) from the Senate floor. Earlier this evening, this bill was poised to pass the Texas Senate with a unanimous vote.

This maneuver was done in response to threats issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, which included: filing an immediate injunction against the statute that would include “the cancellation of any flight or series of flights”. This direct threat was issued in a letter by United States Attorney John E. Murphy.

Throughout the day (Tuesday, May 24th), the Texas State Capitol was besieged by a swarm of TSA and Department of Justice (“DoJ”) lobbyists, which is unlawful. It is not known what additional threats or inducements were bandied about by these federal agents behind closed doors, but their presence represented a clear indication that the TSA may no longer be as confident in resting its fate on the federal supremacy clause.

Article VI, Section 2 of the United States Constitution establishes the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Treaties, and Federal Statutes as the “supreme law of the land”. The fly in the ointment for the TSA is that while it and the Department of Homeland Security were enacted by federal statute, their “naked” body scanners and their “enhanced” pat-downs for those who opt out of the scanners are not law, but “administrative policies”.

This makes it very difficult to argue that low wage federal bureaucrats are permitted to touch you in ways that are unlawful for a properly trained law enforcement officer, particularly when the administrative policies are a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 4th amendment.

The 4th amendment, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any search warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

Our desire to travel freely does not constitute intent to commit a crime, nor does it justify suspicion of a crime, as the TSA universally asserts. The contention that an offensive administrativepolicy trumps the U.S. Constitution is laughable. However, the threat of a statewide economic disruption triggered by massive flight cancelations was painfully clear to our Texas Senators who are clearly contemplating their modern day “Come and Take It” moment.

What terrifies the social engineers in Washington to such an extent that they must exert such drastic measures to defeat a bill that strives to restore sensible security measures to the traveling public?

Click here to encourage our Senators, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Governor Rick Perry to proudly stand up in the “Come and Take it” moment and force the federal government to show the nation its true colors.

Background on HB 1937

HB 1937 was initially filed by State Representative David Simpson (HD-7, Longview, TX) on March 1, 2011. It was referred out of the House committee on Criminal Jurisprudence on April 12th with a unanimous recommendation for passage in the House with a vote of 8 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 absent.

Due to the limited term of the Texas legislature, the bill had to complete its second reading on the House floor by midnight May 12th. HB 1937 passed the Texas House with a unanimous vote of its representatives in the 11th hour and 95 authors/co-authors.

HB 1937 was passed out of the Senate committee on Transportation and Homeland Security with a unanimous recommendation with a vote of 9 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 absent.

Thank you for all your efforts to this point! Your united voices helped get HB 1937 passed in the Texas House by a UNANIMOUS vote! (read more details on the bill here)

As you called and emailed and faxed your Representatives, more and more signed onto HB 1937 to stop the TSA from groping travelers. By the end we had 95 authors and coauthors–that’s almost two-thirds of the entire House!

The bill has been referred to the Transportation and Homeland Security Committee.

But there are only a few days left in the session!

Please forward this email to your friends and then call, fax, or email your State Senator, the Lt. Governor’s office, and the members of the Committee. Politely ask them to support HB 1937 and to pass it quickly out of committee!